Various problems can occur when surgically implanting, removing, modifying and/or adjusting orthopedic implants in human beings. When engaging in such surgical procedures, it is necessary that physicians sometimes employ hammers to provide impulse forces to selected portions of orthopedic implants. For example, during the installation, extraction, or reorientation or adjustment of portions of an artificial hip or shoulder joint, a hammer may be employed to lock a portion of the joint in place, to move, adjust the position of or reorient a portion of the joint, or to remove or extract a portion of the joint. It is well known that artificial orthopedic hip and shoulder joints or implants can be difficult to install, extract or reorient. The delivery of impulse forces by means of a hammer to orthopedic implants is also known to have several problems, including: (a) a variable amount of force being delivered with each hammer blow; (b) an inability to finely gauge or control the amount of force that is delivered by a hammer; (c) different physicians applying different amounts of force with a hammer; (d) locational inaccuracy with respect to where hammer blows actually fall, and (e) other factors not specifically enumerated here but that are known to those skilled in the art.
What is needed is a surgical instrument that eases the installation, extraction and reorientation of artificial hip, shoulder or other types of artificial joints or joint components.